


Lessons

by ambiguously



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Jedi Training (Star Wars), MayThe4th Treat, mild animal harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23957671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: Rey learns one of Leia's best tricks.
Relationships: Leia Organa & Rey
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35
Collections: May the 4th Be With You Star Wars Fanworks Exchange 2020





	Lessons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [frozensea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozensea/gifts).



Rey found the bird during a run. It snapped at her in pain and fear, its wing hanging at an awkward angle.

"It's all right," Rey said, kneeling down, her training set aside for the moment. She reached out with the Force to exude friendliness. "I won't hurt you." The bird twitched and dragged itself away from her. Around them, Rey heard the skitter of the planet's small carnivores in the undergrowth. These were scavengers, waiting for the bird to become exhausted before they crept out of hiding to attack.

She made a decision, avoiding the snapping beak as she lifted the injured animal in her arms. She headed back towards the base.

Leia waited for her with mild disapproval,. "Your practice ended early."

"Sorry, Master." The word was still difficult to say, and worse to remember. Leia had agreed to take her on as an apprentice, the same as the way things were in the old days. There was no one else who could. Rey showed her the bird. "I couldn't leave him there."

Leia glanced at it. "Looks like one of the gol-cats jumped him. Birds don't last long with broken wings."

"I couldn't let them just kill him."

"Why?" She wasn't challenging Rey's decision. She was asking the reasoning. Rey considered her answer.

"Because it's cruel, and unfair that he has to die this way."

"You've lived long enough to know that's how the galaxy is. Eventually we all break, and are consumed. Gol-cats, worms, or bacteria. That's how we all end, in entropy."

Absently, Rey petted the bird's soft feathers. It had calmed in her arms. She wasn't sure if that meant it trusted her, or if it was dying. "But Jedi don't always. You said that sometimes their bodies pass whole into the Force."

Leia gave her a brief smile. "You were paying attention. And here I thought you were distracted that day."

Rey didn't bother to deny this. "You said Jedi who die at peace with the Force vanish instead of leaving a corpse behind." Leia nodded. "Which means we don't all get consumed. Sometimes entropy doesn't win."

Leia looked at the bird Rey held, her face lost in thought. "Sometimes." She raised her eyes to meet Rey's. "You really are determined to fix every lost cause that comes your way, aren't you." She held out her hands, and Rey gave over the limp body. Its eyes were open, but its pulse was fluttery. It would die soon.

Leia said, "That's why I like you, kid. We're a lot alike." She closed her eyes. Rey watched in amazement as the bird trembled, the broken bones in its wing sliding back into place until the limb was whole and healed.

The bird began to shake and protest at being held. Leia lifted her arms, and it shook itself free of her, flying away into the trees.

"You healed it?" Rey couldn't believe her eyes. "How?"

"A little trick I learned a while ago." Leia shivered. For a moment, she looked older. "You transfer a small piece of your own life force." She wavered, and Rey instantly went to her side, supporting her.

"You shouldn't have done that, not for a bird."

"Really? You thought its life was important a minute ago." She sounded tired, but her eyes were as bright and clever as they'd always been. "I'll be fine after a little rest, and your feathered friend is free to get himself into trouble with the gol-cats again tomorrow."

"Show me how to do that," Rey said, helping Leia back to her tent. "Then I can heal you."

Leia slowed and stopped. "Force healing is a wild power. Used without precaution, it could hurt or kill you. Swear to me you will only use it at need, and never on me."

"But Leia...."

"Swear, or I won't show you, and all of Luke's books there won't help you learn."

They reached the tent and Rey helped her sit. "I promise. Only at need. Never for you."

Leia smiled again. "Smart kid. Now I am going to take a nap like a foolish old woman who used her powers when she shouldn't have, and you are going back to your practice. I'll show you the trick tomorrow."

Rey smiled back. "Yes, Master."


End file.
